Holy Plum Pudding!!!Upcoming Historical Romances!!!

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!! September 15, 2019 to October 14, 2019. By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me. Let me also add this warning - since I am now using different sources, I am finding that one person's genre isn't necessarily another persons - sorry if your book is in the wrong genre.  
**Book by an author who is either new to me or has fallen off of my list and I might read.

The leaves are on still the trees, but the holiday season seems to be stirring in Publisherville. You know what that means? That means bunches of author's writing anthologies/novellas. Just so you know, I do not know if the holiday anthology books are new or reprints. 

Historical Romance

	Adrienne deWolfe http://ladylawandthegunslinger.com The Devil Plays with Fire Lady Law and the Gunslinger series September 25
	Anabelle Bryant http://www.anabellebryant.com/ London’s Late Night Scandal Midnight Secrets series September 24
	Anna Bradley http://www.annabradley.net To Wed a Wild Scot Besotted Scots series September 17
	Anna Harrington http://www.annaharringtonbooks.com/ After the Spy Seduces Capturing the Carlisles series September 27
	Caroline Linden* http://www.carolinelinden.com When the Marquess Was Mine Wagers of Sin series September 24
	Christi Caldwell** http://www.christicaldwellauthor.com The Minx Who Met Her Match The Brethren series, ebook, October 11
	Christi Caldwell http://www.christicaldwellauthor.com The Spitfire Wicked Wallflowers series September 17
	Dawn Brower http://www.authordawnbrower.com/ One Less Scandalous Earl Bluestockings Defying Rogues series September 24
	Elisabeth Hobbes http://elisabethhobbes.co.uk A Midsummer Knight’s Kiss September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Eva Shepherd Beguiling the Duke September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Grace Burrowes* http://www.graceburrowes.com/ Emily Larkin http://www.emilylarkin.com Love and Other Perils, novella October 8
	Heather Grothaus http://www.heathergrothaus.com The Laird's Vow Sons of Scotland series September 17
	Julie Eaton http://www.jillianeaton.com The Autumn Duke A Duke for All Seasons September 24
	Julia Justiss* http://www.juliajustiss.com/ The Awakening of Miss Henley September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Laura Lee Guhrke* http://lauraleeguhrke.com/ Heiress Gone Wild Dear Lady Truelove series September 24
	Lauren Smith http://www.laurensmithbooks.com The Earl of Kent League of Rogues series October 1
	Leigh Greenwood Rosanne Bittner Linda Broday Margaret Brownley Anna Schmidt Amy Sandas Longing for a Cowboy Christmas, anthology September 24
	Liz Tyner https://www.liztyner.com/ It’s Marriage or Ruin September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Lynn Winchester http://www.LynnWinchester.com A Lady Never Tells September 23
	Madeline Hunter* Mary Jo Putney Sabrina Jeffries Seductions on a Snowy Night, novella September 24
	Marguerite Kaye* http://www.margueritekaye.com Bronwyn Scott http://bronwynswriting.blogspot.com/ Invitation to a Cornish Christmas September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Mary Jo Putney http://www.maryjoputney.com/ Once a Spy Rogues Redeemed September 24
	May McGoldrick http://www.MayMcGoldrick.com Highland Jewel Royal Highlander series September 24
	Michelle Willingham http://www.michellewillingham.com The Highlander and the Governess September 17 – paper, October 1 – ebook
	Michelle Willingham http://www.michellewillingham.com The Sweetest Christmas, ebook September 24
	Minerva Spencer http://minervaspencer.com/ Scandalous The Outcast series September 24
	Sally MacKenzie http://www.sallymackenzie.net/ The Merry Viscount Widow's Brew series October 1
	Sara Bennett http://www.sara-bennett.com/ Meant to Be Pendleton Manor series September 27
	Scarlett Scott http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com Wicked in Winter Wicked Winters series September 26, ebook
	Stacy Reid http://www.stacyreid.com The Sins of Viscount Worsley Forever Yours series September 23
	Tammy Andresen http://tammyandresen.com/books/ Earl of Dryden Wicked Earls' Club series September 24

Historical Fiction

	Ginny Dye http://www.avoiceintheworld.com/ Courage Rising Bregdan Chronicles series September 29
	Heather Morris https://www.heathermorris.com.au/ Cilka’s Journey, sequel October 3
	Kate Quinn* Stephanie Dray Laura Kamoie E. Knight Heather Webb Sophie Perinot Ribbons of Scarlet, anthology October 1
	Susan Higginbotham http://www.susanhigginbotham.com The First Lady and the Rebel October 1
	Tracy Chevalier http://www.tchevalier.com/ A Single Thread September 17

A Warriner to Seduce Her by Virginia Heath - Warriner Book 4

August 21, 2019
"The party's over, it's time to call it a day"  
Betty Comden and Adolph Green

https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/

And now on to the fourth book in the Wild Warriner series, and my favorite of the group. A Warriner to Seduce Her is Jake’s story. And, in this story we are introduced to the Elmer Fudd spies from the Kings Elite series – although they seem to be smarter in this book then in their own series.

Jake, of all the brothers, seems to be a little separate from the group. He appears to be a loose screw, a lady’s man, but sometimes appearances can be deceptive.

There’s a bad group of people working against England. The King’s Elite think they know one of the members of this group, Lord Crispin Rowley. They need to infiltrate this group – somehow. Rowley has a niece who just might fit the bill. What is needed is a master seducer who can work his wiles on her and get the information needed. They call in Jake, even though his Mr. Toad should have fallen off a long time ago, he is still the man for the job. He has never set eyes on Felicity Blunt, but he doesn’t think there should be a problem, no woman can resist him. She’s a country bumpkin fresh out of a convent, how hard could it be to seduce info out of her. At least that’s what he thinks. As I said before, he’s never met Felicity Blunt.

Felicity Blunt was a treat! What a great heroine. Yes, she may be an innocent spinster, she may be from the country, fresh from the convent. She may even wear glasses. But Felicity is no dumb cookie. She’s wise to the ways of rakes, having worked in a convent which takes in unwed mothers. She’s seen the results of male seduction close up.

The scene when they first met was very humerous. Jake observes a woman sneaking across the room, turtle-like. He watches her, intrigued. Felicity is trying to avoid the suitor her uncle has chosen for her. She is without her glasses, so things are a bit of a blur. Anyway, she ends up in an alcove with Jake. They talk, and he soon realizes that she is the woman he has been ordered to seduce. He starts with his very practiced seduction. But instead of falling for his charms she tells him to knock it off, that she’s not in the mood for any rakes. Now, she really intrigues him. He soon forgets that he has been ordered to seduce her.

Jake and Felicity begin a friendship which quickly turns into something else. As with all the books in the series when dealing with secrets, Felicity confides her fear of her uncle to Jake. The tension builds for us the readers and for Jake. As Jake falls more and more in love with Felicity, he knows he must tell her about his assignment, but he is afraid of losing her. We the readers also know he should tell her, because of the eventual pain. I actually could not sleep until this part of the book was over. I must admit I was hoping he would go against the Romanceland hero standard and speak up. But, of course he delayed too long.  There was a nice grovel scene.

I loved this story, I loved the plotline, the secrets that both the main character had. Ms. Heath does not stretch out the problems too long and everything comes to a lovely end. We see Jake’s family dynamics again; we watch as Jake finally shows the world his true self.

Overall I was enchanted with the entire Wild Warriner series, this one is my favorite followed by Jamie’s story, then Jack, and lastly Joe. This is a series that historical romance readers should read.

Time/Place: Regency Engalnd
Sensuality: Warm/Hot 

A Warriner to Tempt Her by Virginia Heath - Warriner Book 3

August 21, 2019
Warriner Number 3 - Joe
 
https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/
On to the third book in the Wild Warriner series, A Warriner to Tempt Her. This story is about the smart Warriner brother, Joe. He is a doctor, so he must be smart. He also seems to be a little obsessed with the local beauty, Clarissa the Incomparable. In fact, he seems to have a little bit of a stalker feel about him in the beginning. Right away, he struck me as a tad bit shallow. He also seems to jump to wrong conclusions, especially when it comes to the beauty’s sister, Isabella.

This Wild Warriner story is not quite as light-hearted as the previous story. Both of our characters have some deep-seated problems. When Joe first crosses paths with Isabella, he thinks she is rather standoffish, and rather snobbish. But she has a big problem from her past which is overwhelming her. She is suffering from a violent sexual assault. She is living with fear. She is afraid to be with people, afraid of crowds. Her parents are trying to help as best they can, considering the time they live in. Her doctor is a true example of a physician of that time. Isabella has already been subjected to a couple of her doctor’s treatments. Of course, the history of medicine always makes me shudder. I believe some of those treatments were still being used way into the 20th century. Anyway, Isabella is trying to fix herself. She is forcing herself to face some of her fears. Eventually she does heal herself – but its slow going.

Something that I have found consistent in the Wild Warriner series is that the antagonists don’t wait until the end of the story to confess their secrets. This leaves time for a more fully developed relationship between our couple.  I am also pretty impressed with the heroines in each of the books. Even though each of them had a different set of problems, they tried to overcome those problems themselves. I never had the feeling that these were TSTL women, nor were they overly stubborn. Even if they had support when they reached their goals, I had the feeling that they could have done it on their own.

While I liked Isabella quite a lot, I was less enchanted with Joe. Supposedly, this guy was a sensitive, smart, ahead-of-his-time doctor. However, his perception of the sisters, both Clarissa and Isabella was way off.  And his initial obsession with Clarissa was just a little icky. By the way, Clarissa is an unlikable woman in this book, and I didn’t like her very much when she had her own book, The Mysterious Lord Millcroft.

Spoiler: Just so you know the villain from the previous books gets his just desserts in this story.

Overall, this was my least favorite of the Wild Warriner series, and that was due mainly to the hero. I was never able to like him. But don’t let that stop you, this is still a good read.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm

A Warriner to Rescue Her by Virginia Heath - Warriner Number 2

August 21, 2019
The Journey Continues - Book 2

https://www.virginiaheathromance.com/

Villain alert! A Warriner to Rescue Her has one of the most disturbing villains I have seen in a long time. But more on that later.

It’s time for the hero with a limp to step forward. Yes, our hero has a limp, and he is hiding from the world. He grunts when he talks. He is surly. One day churlish-Jamie is riding through the Warriner’s apple orchard.  He sees something.  There appears to be some plump feminine legs dangling from a branch. Upon closer inspection, there seems to be pink garters decorating those lovely legs. He thinks that maybe he should investigate. He hears an agitated feminine voice coming from above him. Then he makes his first mistake, he asks if he can help. Jamie is about to have his hands full as he tries to rescue Cassandra aka Cassie Reeves from the tree. He tries to climb the tree. It does not work. They both fall, with Cassie sprawled all over Jamie’s manly chest. It is a case of lust at first sight.

The mirror trick. Cassie is one of those heroines who is pretty, but does not know it. She is an I-don’t-have-a-mirror-and-if-I-did-I-would-never-look heroine. Cassie is a vivacious, charming, bubbly woman, and Jamie just cannot resist her. I loved Cassie, even if she did not know how stunning she was.

When Jamie returns home after the “rescue,” he cannot forget the vibrant Cassie. Then Cassie shows up for a visit at the Warriners, but she is not alone. Her father, Reverend Reeves, has come to save the Warriners from their transgressions. Can I hear a hisssss? The Reverend Reeves is a hateful, bible-thumping, zealot preacher who has crushed Cassie’s bright light for years. He is the villain in this piece, and he is just loathsome. He spews all kinds of poison about the Warriners to his parish. He’s just awful. I was pleased with how the Warriners formed a strong unit to combat him. But, I was disappointed with the village peoples willingness to go along with him. Spoiler, he does not get his just desserts in this book.

When the Reeves’ show up, Jamie is shocked at the change he sees in Cassie. Gone is the vibrant woman who fell from the tree. Gone is the brilliance. She is now a shadow behind her overbearing father. Jamie cannot forget the woman he first encountered, he is intrigued, and he wants to help. But how? He is after all, a surly guy with a limp. What would he have to offer anyone? 

Now it is time for my favorite part of the book, and the reason I am giving this one a high recommendation. Cassie has a plan to escape her father. She has secretly been writing fanciful books with a horse, Orange Blossom, who is the narrator. The stories that Orange Blossom tells are about her human’s misadventures. Of course, Cassie bases these misadventures on her own blunders. But they are more whimsical when told by a horse. Then Letty steps in. Remember Letty? She was the heroine from A Warriner to Protect Her. Well it seems that Letty is a bit of a matchmaker. Letty is amused by Cassie’s story called, Orange Blossom and the Great Apple Debacle. She thinks it would make a wonderful story for children. She suggests to Cassie that the book would be even better if it was illustrated. Guess who happens to be a wonderful artist?  Go ahead; guess. Yep, Jamie. Jamie is an artist. However, Jamie’s father ridiculed his son’s talent. While Cassie is excited about the prospect of having her story illustrated, Jamie is hesitant. Eventually, they start working together. Cassie reads her stories to him, and he draws his impressions. They start meeting in secret, talking, laughing, writing, drawing and becoming friends. I found the Orange Blossom stories within the story to be wonderful. I really wanted there to be books with the funny stories and the vivid illustrations. Everything about these little books was magical. Oh, how I wish they were real. And, kudos Ms. Heath for some really magical writing. Loved Orange Blossom.

Overall, the relationship between Cassie and Jamie was terrific. We were allowed to see their relationship develop. As a couple, they worked well together. I loved James and Cassie as a couple and I loved the stories they created together. The brothers still had the great chemistry from the previous book. And, the Orange Blossom stories were a delight. This book gets a high recommendation from me. 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot

A Warriner to Protect Her by Virginia Heath - Warriner Number 1

August 21, 2019
It’s About Time

Finally, after a long spell of disappointing books, I found some, which made me smile. I have previously whined about Ms. Heath’s spy series, The King’s Elite, but I also kept hearing good things about her Wild Warriner series. Everywhere I turned; it was a love fest for the Warriner brothers. So I thought why don’t I check out these books and see what all the hubbub is about. And, I did.

Imagine my surprise and delight when this series turned out not to be about bumbling spies, but four charming brothers: Jack, Jamie, Joe, and Jake Warriner, and the women strong enough to take them on.

Let us begin with Warriner number 1, Jack, the Earl of Markham. There is a continuing thread in all four books about how poor the Warriner brothers are, and how much the people in the nearby village dislike them. It seems as if the previous generations of Warriners were all wastrels. They never honored any of their debts; they were wild, uncaring brutes. The people of the village have loonnnnng memories and small hearts. 

The story begins one evening with a slightly drunk Jack meandering his way home pondering his poor state of affairs. Wait a minute! What’s that? Can it be a bound and gagged woman? It’s dark! It is a forest! What is going on? Well, Jack is no dummy. He knows it unusual for a woman to be wearing a gag. He can recognize a damsel in distress when he sees her. It must mean something for a trussed up woman to be wandering the road. Enter our heroine Violet Dunston aka Letty.

Letty is an heiress. She has been kidnapped by the ev-i-l Earl of Banbridge, who happens to be in cahoots with her uncle. When the story opens, Letty is in a carriage plotting ways to escape. I was fond of this Letty. Sure, she may be in trouble, but her brain is thinking. She is not a heroine in need of a rescuer, well, she is, but she isn’t waiting around for one. Her brain is busy, she is formulating ways to escape, and she does. I liked that she did it on her own. Anyway, she stumbles through the night right into Jack’s arms, and then she faints. I was pleased with Letty’s escaping on her own.

When Letty wakes up, she finds herself surrounded by four handsome men. They look kind; maybe they will help her. She seeks their aid in hiding from her uncle until she turns 21, which is only a few weeks away. After much grumbling on Jack’s part, he agrees.

Then Letty turns into someone I did not like too much. Her character becomes a spoiled rich girl who does not seem to notice how impoverished the Warriner brothers are. She expects servants to wait on her, feed her, and tidy up after her. Eventually she and Jack come to blows over her demands. Then she turns into a person who tries to help the brothers by cleaning, and cooking. Usually her attempts at helping are disasters. All of the brothers except Jack put up with her catastrophes. Whenever Jack and she are together, the sparks fly. Eventually they become friends, but then the I-don’t-need-your-money-Jack shows up. He changes into a grumpy-Gus in the middle of the story, but then he saves a drowning lamb, he is wearing a wet shirt, and all is right with the world.

During the middle part of the story, the writing becomes a little choppy, but eventually the story becomes a little bit more cohesive. Ms. Heath’s writing is wonderful in the scenes where the brothers are together. Their chemistry was great, and they seemed as if they were a real, loving family.

Overall, A Warriner to Protect Her was an enjoyable book, even with the few bumps in the road. It was a delightful beginning to a series, and I was looking forward to continuing the saga. 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot

Someone to Honor by Mary Balogh

August 8, 2019
Let’s think about it…No, no, not that, not think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all know that I believe Mary Balogh is a Romanceland Goddess. But, even a Goddess can have a bad day. Normally, when Ms. Balogh writes one of her delicately, quiet, slow books, it is full of breathtaking moments, and filled with compelling people. However, for me the sixth book in the Westcott series, Someone to Honor, left me a little underwhelmed.  Why did this happen?  Well, my little Petunia’s, since you asked…I’ll tell you. It’s the thinking!!! OMG, the thinking!!! Someone, make it stop!

While I often whine about characters in books having too much dialog and not enough brain-think, this book turned out to be the complete opposite. There was just not enough dialog between our heroine, Abigail Westcott and our hero, Gilbert Bennington. Because of the lack of dialog, there was no chemistry formed between our two intrepid leads while they are puzzling over the meaning of life. Maybe I missed the Vulcan mind-meld that blended their thoughts together, but I don’t think so.   

Let’s start our journey with Abigail Westcott. It’s been six years since the big brouhaha over discovering Abigail’s father wasn’t legally wed to her mother. As the series progresses, things are starting to sort out.  Don’t get too excited about the end of the Westcott series; there are still plenty of characters who need their loose ends tied. As I was saying, it’s been six years, and Abigail has been struggling to find herself. She is pretty much a lost soul, the person she thought she was, no longer exists. While she loves her Westcott family and all of the assorted family connections, they can be overwhelming. She needs some time away from them to sort things through. Well, as luck would have it, her brother Harry has just returned from the war. He is recovering from a bad injury he sustained while fighting against Napoleon, one from which he almost died. Now he is returning to his country estate to recuperate. He has the same sentiments as Abigail does about his family. He loves them dearly, but he also knows they would be toooo overprotective. He doesn’t’ want all of his family mollycoddling him as he recovers. He wants peace. Which is why he’s returning to the country and not London where his family is residing. He is also bringing his friend Gil Bennington along.

Gil has oodles of problems. This may explain why he thinks so much. Gil is illegitimate; he is also involved in a child custody case. His wife is dead and her parents will not let him have his child.  I did have an issue with this custody set-up. I thought it was odd that the courts allowed Gil’s in-laws any custodian rights. This was the 17th century, and he was the father. I had a hard time buying into this story line. Anyway, Gil and Harry are in the country trying to recover, and at the same time have some peace. Then allllll of the Westcotts, the extended family members, and friends descend on them. So much for quiet solitude. Thankfully, the noisy hordes of Westcotts get the hint and leave Gil and Harry. Abigail stays behind to help Harry and find herself. 

When Abigail first stumbles across Gil, he is chopping wood without his shirt on. Gil is the one who is shirtless, not the wood. Whoever heard of a piece of wood wearing a shirt? Anyway, Abigail insults Gil. She thinks he’s a peasant, and he thinks she’s a bitch. It takes a while for them to get over their dislike of each other. Then one day, Gil’s lawyer/solicitor suggests that if Gil weds he might have a better chance at winning custody of his daughter. Ummmm. Whom could he get? Harry suggests Abigail. After pages of thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking, Abigail and Gil decide marriage is the right option. Then they think some more about their marriage.  They think about each other. They think about their relatives. They think about the cow down the road. Their brains hurt.

Embarrassing scenes. Sometimes when I read something, or view a movie, a scene embarrasses me. I’m not sure why, after all I’m not in the scene. But there’s just something about the scene; maybe it’s just silly writing, or bad dialog, or improbable antics, or maybe I would be embarrassed if it actually happened to me. There is one of these moments in this book. When Gil’s custody case goes to court, everyone shows up. I mean everybody. The entire Westcott family, connected family members, and even Gil’s father all make an appearance. They were there to show their support for Gil. His father, who he’s never had anything to do with, even stands up and makes a speech. It was just tooooo sappy for me. It was cringe worthy.

Overall, Someone to Honor does not stand alone very well. While I’ve enjoyed the Westcott series, the appearance of alllll the Westcott’s was overwhelming. Why? Because I have forgotten a number of them. I could not remember who they were, what they did, or why they did it. I found the characters of Abigail and Gil to be humdrum. There was an excessive amount of introspection by the hero and heroine. Sorry to say, this story did not live-up to what I have come to expect from a Mary Balogh book.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality:Biblical